The UAE: On a mission to boost residents’ happiness

I have two visitors over from the UK at the moment. They’re out here to get away from the coldest March the UK’s seen since 1962, and they bring with them reports of how people back home are down in the dumps because of the icy temperatures. Even the “warm” south-east of England is still struggling to get a daytime high that’s not sub-zero – at a time when temperatures really should be edging into double figures.

“What’s not to be happy about?” asked one visitor, who, on her first visit, has been blown away by what she’s seen so far of Dubai. “What on earth can be done to improve life here?”

Well, of course, the answer to that depends on who you are. But the government’s plan is to improve the UAE’s “happiness” rating in an aim to make the UAE more attractive to foreign investors.

The UAE is currently ranked 17th in the world, and top in the Arab world on the World Happiness Report but, if it can make it into the top 10 of the most “happy” countries in the world, goes the reasoning, the investors – who consider factors such as safety, standard of living and education – will come.

Obviously the UAE scores highly on personal safety, national security and trust in the government, which are all factors considered in the World Happiness Report. But what else could be done to improve life in the UAE? Here are a few of my own suggestions that may help foreign investors give serious consideration to Dubai:

Long-term visas: Both long-term expats and those who have invested in property or businesses here would welcome the chance not to have to renew their visas every two to three years. More security and a 10-year or permanent residency visa for those who’ve shown commitment to the country would go a long way to making people consider putting more into their lives here. I also believe it would encourage some much-needed social responsibility.

Road safety: With life expectancy cited as one of the criteria on which the World Happiness Report is judged, it would be ideal if the government could somehow wave a magic wand at the situation on the roads here, wiping out the culture of selfish, arrogant and reckless driving that currently threatens our life expectancy.

Red tape: What expat isn’t familiar with preparing complex paperwork, multiple passport copies and millions of passport photos before queuing at multiple counters to get stamps and receipts? Admittedly, red tape here has become much more streamlined in the last few years but easier, online applications, payments and renewals for the paperwork that’s required to live, work and run a business here would be much appreciated by expat investors.

Customer service: I’d like to see the back of Dubai’s notorious “yes ma’am-sir” customer service and the introduction of educated, empowered customer service across every sector from banking to retail. It would give a much better impression of the city and reduce a lot of frustration.

Education: While education here is expensive and not always as top-notch as it could be, I appreciate that private schools will always be run as businesses. But the school hours, which for most currently start at 7.45am and finish anywhere between 12.30pm and 3pm, could be made more amenable to working parents: A slightly later start and a later, standardised finish time would mean many more women could join the workforce rather than spend their entire afternoons doing multiple school pick-ups at different times – or is that just me?

Annabel Kantaria is a journalist who moved to Dubai long before most people knew where it was. She doesn’t ride a camel to work; has never seen a gold-plated golf buggy and only rarely has pink champagne for breakfast. Follow her on Twitter: @BellaKay